Xperia Ray (Urushi, ST18i) - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Aug

Sony Continues Its Ice Cream Sandwich Rollout, Promises Updates For The Xperia Arc, Arc S, Neo, Neo V, Mini, Pro, Active, And Ray This Week

Posted by John Thompson in Xperia Active (Satsuma), Xperia Arc (Anzu, X12), Xperia Arc S, Xperia Mini / Mini Pro (Smultron / Mango), Xperia Neo (Hallon), Xperia Neo V (Haida), Xperia Pro (Iyokan), Xperia Ray (Urushi, ST18i)

It was only last week that Sony began to update the Xperia P with Ice Cream Sandwich, but it looks like the company is now going full steam ahead and bringing the update to no fewer than 8 more devices this week.

A post on the Sony Xperia Product Blog this morning said that the update will be coming to the arc, arc S, neo, neo V, mini, pro, active, and ray "starting from this week". Depending on the country that you live in, you may have to wait a little longer for the update, as it will have to be approved by local carriers before it's rolled out.

Apr

Sony Begins Rollout Of Ice Cream Sandwich To The Xperia Arc S, Neo V, and Ray In Nordic Countries

Posted by Cameron Summerson in News, Xperia Active (Satsuma), Xperia Arc (Anzu, X12), Xperia Arc S, Xperia Mini / Mini Pro (Smultron / Mango), Xperia Neo (Hallon), Xperia Neo V (Haida), Xperia Play (Zeus, PlayStation Phone), Xperia Ray (Urushi, ST18i)

Sony has done an excellent job at being transparent with its progress on the bringing Ice Cream Sandwich to a number of Xperia devices. It has kept users aware of what's going on throughout the process, as well as shared alpha and beta builds along the way. Now, though, it looks like the beta days are behind them and the build is ready for prime time for a certain Xperia devices.

The rollout will being with unlocked variants of the Xperia arc s, neo v, and ray (seriously, Sony, stop with the lowercase device names. It looks awful) in Nordic Countries and will continue over the next four to six weeks.

Mar

Ice Cream Sandwich Updates For 2011 Sony Xperia Phones Starting In Mid-April, But Carrier Restrictions May Apply

Posted by Ryan Whitwam in Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, Live w/ Walkman (Coconut), Sony, Xperia Active (Satsuma), Xperia Arc (Anzu, X12), Xperia Arc S, Xperia Mini / Mini Pro (Smultron / Mango), Xperia Neo (Hallon), Xperia Neo V (Haida), Xperia Play (Zeus, PlayStation Phone), Xperia Pro (Iyokan), Xperia Ray (Urushi, ST18i)

Before Sony Ericsson became Sony Mobile, the company seemed committed to developing an Android 4.0 update, going so far as to release alpha ROMs for a number of Xperia devices, and more recently a beta for the Xperia Play. Here we are, a quarter of the way into 2012, and Xperia owners are still gnawing on last year's official Gingerbread. Although, there may finally be a light at the end of the tunnel; the Sony Mobile blog has announced that the first Android 4.0 updates will roll out to select Xperia phones in mid-April. Don't get too excited when wireless carriers are involved though.

Feb

Sony Releases Android 4.0 Beta ROM For Some Unlocked 2011 Xperia Smartphones

Posted by Cameron Summerson in News, Xperia Arc S, Xperia Neo V (Haida), Xperia Ray (Urushi, ST18i)

Back in December of '11, Sony [Ericsson] released an Android 4.0 alpha ROM for the Xperia Arc S, Neo V, and Ray. The Sony dev teams has now released an update to this ROM, bringing into its beta stages.

Since the previous release, Sony has made a number of improvements to the ROM, including an updated UI, improved lockscreen, activated GSM modem and FM radios, and a quick dialer.

Unfortunately, Google Apps are not available for this ROM, nor are Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, as they're both still waiting for approval before they can implemented into the product.

If you intend on flashing this ROM, however, you need to be aware that it's intended primarily for developer use, and there are still a lot of quirks.

Feb

SFR Reveals Existence Of Android 4.0.5, Confirms ICS Update Roadmap For Galaxy Nexus, Nexus S, Galaxy SII And HTC Sensation In March 2012

Posted by Abhiroop Basu in Defy+, Galaxy Nexus, Galaxy Pro, Galaxy S II, Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, News, Nexus S (Crespo/Soju), Sensation / Sensation 4G (Pyramid), Xperia Arc (Anzu, X12), Xperia Mini / Mini Pro (Smultron / Mango), Xperia Ray (Urushi, ST18i)

Just days after hearing about the leaked release of Android 4.0.4 for the Nexus 4G, French mobile phone company SFR has not only announced (Google Translate) which devices will be getting ICS in the coming months, it has also confirmed the existence of Android 4.0.5.

According to its post, the Samsung Galaxy Nexus and Nexus S will be receiving an OTA update to Android 4.0.5 sometime in March, while the HTC Sensation and Galaxy SII will be updated to Android 4.0. In addition, a number of older Android devices, including the LG Optimus Black, HTC Desire S, Desire HD, Samsung Galaxy S, Galaxy Pro, and Motorola Defy+ will be updated to various versions of Android 2.3.

Dec

Sony Ericsson Releases Alpha ICS ROM For Certain Unlocked Xperia Devices

Posted by Cameron Summerson in News, Xperia Arc (Anzu, X12), Xperia Neo (Hallon), Xperia Ray (Urushi, ST18i)

There must be something weird going on with manufacturers lately - first Huawei released an alpha build of ICS for the Honor, and now Sony Ericsson (soon to be just Sony) has released an ICS ROM for certain unlocked Xperia devices, including the Arc S, Neo V, and Ray.

Since it's an alpha ROM, it's not made for day-to-day use, as it is limited to just a few functions at the moment. As far as things that aren't working are concerned, here is the list, as provided by SE in the official blog post:

Google Mobile Services (GMS) apps are not included (for example, Gmail, Google Maps, etc.).

Aug

Skype For Android Updated To v2.1 With Official Video Support For 17 More Devices (Including EVO 3D/4G, Thunderbolt, SGS1/2), And Unofficial Support For Any 2.2+ Device

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Applications, Charge (i510), Desire (Bravo/BravoC), Desire HD (Ace), EVO 3D (Shooter), EVO 4G (Supersonic), Flyer, Galaxy S, Galaxy S II, Galaxy Tab, Incredible S (Vivo), News, Revolution, Sensation / Sensation 4G (Pyramid), Thunderbolt (Mecha), Xperia Mini / Mini Pro (Smultron / Mango), Xperia Play (Zeus, PlayStation Phone), Xperia Ray (Urushi, ST18i)

Last Updated: September 16th, 2011

Skysoft... errr, I mean Skype updated its previously measly Android device support from 5 devices to more than 20 today with the introduction of version 2.1 of its Android app. There are no new features outside of expanded device support, which was badly needed in order for the app to climb out of the sea of 1-star reviews (although stability and quality improvements would have made today's release even sweeter).

Update: Other devices with 2.2+ should work, but you need to enable Video support in the settings, according to the in-app changelog.

The new devices are (glad to see many flagships here):

Samsung Galaxy S II
Samsung Galaxy S
Samsung Droid Charge - Verizon
Samsung Galaxy Tab
HTC Desire (2.2)
HTC Thunderbolt - Verizon
HTC Sensation
HTC Evo 4G
HTC Evo 3D
HTC Incredible S
HTC Desire HD
HTC Flyer
LG Revolution - Verizon (2.2)
Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY
Sony Ericsson Xperia ray
Sony Ericsson Xperia mini pro
Acer A5

As usual, download the app from the Market by using the links below.

Jun

Two New Sony Phones: Meet The Xperia Ray And Xperia Active - With Maria Sharapova

Posted by David Ruddock in News, Xperia Active (Satsuma), Xperia Ray (Urushi, ST18i)

Last Updated: August 20th, 2012

Update: Now with video goodness. In fact, you can watch Maria Sharapova (don't get too excited) talk about the Xperia Active. And hey, she knows about active lifestyle phones, because she's sporty.

Catch the other videos about the Ray (here, and here) and the Active (here). You know, if you want. Also, the word "lifestyle" was definitely used in describing the design of the Ray. I felt queasy.

Today at CommunicAsia (we've never heard of it, either) Sony-Ericsson announced two additions to the Android-powered Xperia line of smartphones: the Ray and Active. Both phones are niche sort of "lifestyle" devices, and will probably be marketed more heavily in Japan than the rest of the world.